As published in the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, Thursday Jan. 3, 2012 Edition Offers... Read More »
Articles in category 'Tax Court'
Administrative Procedure Act and IRS Deficiency Notices
By way (once again) of Paul Caron (emphasis is mine): Smith: The APA’s Reasoned-Explanation Rule and IRS Deficiency Notices Patrick J. Smith (Ivins, Phillips & Barker, Washington, D.C.), The APA’s Reasoned-Explanation Rule and IRS Deficiency Notices, 134 Tax Notes 331 (Jan. 16, 2012): The D.C. Circuit’s confirmation in Cohen that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) applies to…
Read Full Article Categorized in: IRS Audits, IRS Procedure, Tax CourtTax Court Orders Now Available Online
The United States Tax Court today issued the following press release announcing changes to its website, including the online publication of the Court’s orders: PRESS RELEASE Chief Judge John O. Colvin announced today that, to assist the public in identifying and locating orders issued by Judges, Senior Judges, and Special Trial Judges, the United States Tax …
Read Full Article Categorized in: Announcements, Tax CourtTop 10 Most Challenged Tax Issues
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson has issued her annual report on the most frequently litigated tax issues: Internal Revenue Code § 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(X) requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to identify the ten tax issues most often litigated in the federal courts, classified by the types of taxpayer affected. Through analysis of these issues, the National Taxpayer Advocate…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Back Taxes, Blog Posts, IRS Procedure, Penalties, Tax CourtUnrepresented Taxpayers Lose 90% of Tax Court Cases
Did you ever wonder why the IRS prevails in trials before the United States Tax Court in 9 out of 10 cases. The more paranoid among attribute the government’s lopsided success rate to a silent conspiracy between the Court and the government. But the truth is more benign. More than 80% of all Tax Court cases…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Blog Posts, Tax CourtTax Court Update: An IRS Agent Fails to Corroborate her eBay Expenses
In a summary opinion issued yesterday the Tax Court held that an IRS revenue officer failed to substantiate expenses she claimed in her eBay business.¹ Below is an excerpt from the Court’s opinion in Orellana v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2010-51 (Apr. 20, 2010). The IRS agent/taxpayer’s admissions are stunning (emphasis added): Petitioner argues that she was…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Gross Income, Self-Employed Taxpayers, Tax CourtIRS Penalties: Geithner Defense Shot Down by Tax Court
The Tax Court has rejected a taxpayer’s use of the so-called Geithner Defense holding that a reliance on TurboTax software does not warrant relief from IRS penalties: We do not accept petitioners’ misuse of TurboTax, even if unintentional or accidental, as a defense to the penalties on the basis of the facts presented. … At trial Ms. Lam…
Read Full Article Categorized in: IRS Penalties, Tax CourtMost Litigated Tax Issues
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson has issued her annual report on the most frequently litigated tax issues: Internal Revenue Code § 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(X) requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to identify the ten tax issues most often litigated in the federal courts, classified by the types of taxpayer affected. Through analysis of these issues, the National Taxpayer Advocatewill,…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Court, Tax LitigationTaxpayers Lose 86% of Tax Court Cases
The Blog of Legal Times reports that a taxpayer’s chances of beating the IRS in Tax Court are about 14%: Your chances of winning a fight with the IRS are about as great as your chances when fighting City Hall. National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, in her recently-released annual report to Congress, listed the 10…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Announcements, Tax CourtHow to Win in Tax Court
Tax Court is a Prepayment Forum of Dispute Resolution Tax Court jurisdiction is conferred by a timely filed petition challenging the IRS’s Notice of Deficiency. The taxpayer is not required to first pay the tax and then sue for a refund as is required to confer jurisdiction on a United States’ District Court. This allows…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Court


